"Online marketing in Switzerland lacks experts".

Heleen Dura Van Oord saw the great potential of the online world and founded DQ&A Media Group, a digital marketing company, during the .com crisis in 2001. Today, this runs international subsidiaries with 130 specialists. The group includes admazing AG in Zurich.MK What are the challenges in online marketing?HELEEN DURA VAN OORD The online marketing market has not yet developed its potential. It is not developing as it could. One of the things keeping it from growing is the lack of professionals. Indeed, most European markets are struggling. This is also the case in Switzerland. And when two companies fight over talent, the market price naturally rises.In a developing market, however, many new specialists are needed because the needs in this area are also increasing. If there were more specialists, the market could have developed and grown much faster.The solution, however, is not simply to pay higher wages. Universities and technical colleges must train young talents so that they can find their way in the market and productively join companies.MK What kind of professionals are needed?VAN OORD Advertisers need to be perfect in their field. So many channels are used these days: Emails, videos, social media, print and so on. The motto is: the more cross-media, the more successful. Especially in the B2C sector, the advertiser has to move on almost all channels to reach the largest possible target group. So the advertiser needs broad knowledge in all segments. On the other side are the agencies. Above all, they need specialized talent. Almost anyone can set up and launch an online campaign, but it's what comes after that counts. An expert needs to understand the whole process in order to optimize the campaign.MK What do advertisers need to consider when placing online ads?VAN OORD Advertisers need to know their KPIs, i.e. the key metrics for them. These figures help to develop the necessary strategy. At the same time, they are the basis for effective campaigns and their optimization. Before the campaign, the advertiser should be clear: "What do we want to achieve, what do we want to say?"MK What about mobile advertising?VAN OORD The market exists here, but it is still very small. Every year the mobile year is proclaimed, yet it is difficult to establish oneself in this area. That's because mobile advertising can quickly become distracting. Practically everyone uses a smartphone - and not infrequently. That's why everyone is talking about mobile advertising. Nevertheless, advertising revenues are manageable. From my experience, this area is more likely to be another part of the whole marketing mix and not stand out as a single activity.MK How will online marketing develop in the future?VAN OORD We are only at the beginning in terms of online marketing. TV commercials are moving more and more toward online video; at the same time, convergence is increasing. And the online world is also increasingly taking over the TV world. Overall, more emphasis is being placed on cross-media. This can be seen well in the example of e-commerce. Consumers are buying more and more online, and the platforms are growing. So with appropriate advertising, you pick up potential customers where they are; whether online or offline. So I'm not saying that offline advertising is unimportant, quite the opposite. However, investments should be balanced and geared to targets and media usage. Other important trends are transparency and automation.MK Automation in what respect?VAN OORD Until recently, the processes for booking online campaigns were downright stone-age: telephone inquiries, PDF order confirmations and signatures by fax were common. Yet all relevant data and options are basically available electronically. Now, inquiries are more frequently transmitted electronically, and purchasing is partially automated and automatically optimized via targeting and rules. The huge amount of data, platforms and booking options simply demands leaner processes and more automation.MK What is DQ&A's mission regarding the future development of online advertising?VAN OORD We help our clients get the most out of existing as well as new technologies and opportunities. We make sure they don't get lost in all the options, but use their resources and media budget in a targeted and efficient way. Our Swiss subsidiary admazing AG and thus the Swiss market benefit from our international experience. We can test technologies and algorithms to an extent that would not be possible in the Swiss market.Interview: Melanie Granados